Should Government Salaries Match the Private Sector? Let's Discuss the Sixth Pay Commission's Impact

Hi HR Folks,

The Sixth Pay Commission has recommended a 40% hike in the existing salary for all of the 45 lakh government employees, effective from 1st Jan 2006. Now the question is, "Should the salary of government employees be on par with the salary of private sector employees? Do most of them work in a similar manner to private sector employees?"

Regards,
DN

"Should the salary of government employees be at par with the salary of private sector employees?
WHY NOT...
Do most of them work the same way as private sector employees?
WHAT IS YOUR VIEW? HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THEM WORKING, AND WHY DO YOU FEEL THEY DON'T WORK THE SAME WAY AS PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEES?"

In the corrected version, the spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors have been fixed. The text has been properly formatted into paragraphs with a single line break in between. The original meaning and tone of the message have been preserved.

Dear All,

I don't think we should generalize about all the government servants not working, because if that were the case, then all the functioning of Government departments would have come to a standstill. There are always some people in any organization, be it private or government, who just take credit for others' work and simply take home hefty salaries.

Regards,
Anita :(

Hi!

I don't think there should be any problem in increasing the salary of the government employee. I have seen that these days in government offices, you get a prompt reply rather than in private firms or offices. Gone are those days when we were not able to get any proper reply from government employees.

Chitra

Hi all,

This is a good issue for a debate. I am of the opinion that government employees also deserve a decent salary to have a reasonably good quality of life. This is especially in the backdrop of increased costs, not just the CPI index but other costs like education, health services, travel, holiday, and leisure, and of course the cost of housing (which has skyrocketed due to the failure of regulatory norms).

But the anomaly in the sixth pay commission seems to be the big gap of 1:12 between the lowest and the highest. It shouldn't have been more than 8 times. I suggest that those at the lower end should get more.

Sri

IIM (Ahmedabad) has compiled six reports based on their studies of various government departments in which they have recommended the application of pay-for-performance guidelines. What do you all feel? Will pay-for-performance work in the government sector?

Dear Dev,

Do not tar all government employees with the same brush. No one can ever compensate the brave forces deployed to protect our borders, whether it be the BSF, Army, ITBP, etc. No amount of money can compensate for my nearly 17 years of separation (out of the 23 years of married life) from my family, just spending a few days of CL or AL (EL) with them.

Col Jude

Dear All,

When I ask students "what ails India," they reply poverty, population, and unemployment. And I reply, "But that's been going on for more than 60 years." How can a problem remain unsolved for 60 years? Obviously, we got it wrong. The problem is poor governance, and India is facing the consequences of poor governance today. Be it infrastructure, disaster management, or the justice system, which is able to catch the rich and the famous (occasionally) but not the politicians.

Therefore, India does not need to worry about the private sector. They take care of themselves. It is the government we need to focus on. We need better teachers, better doctors, better policing, and a better justice system. And better pay to attract them.

True, government employees need a better package. The government may pay whatever their requirements are. However, after receiving this amount, at least all of them should work for what they have earned. Government employment still attracts some groups due to its other benefits such as more leave, additional rest time, job security, etc. Particularly in Kerala, people still prefer government jobs over private jobs. For example, a Sales Officer quit his job and joined as a Conductor at KSRTC simply because of the increased leave and rest offered.

Hence, the government, while considering paying them a higher salary, should cut down on other benefits, especially the leave benefits they currently enjoy.

Out of this discussion, a random thought came to my mind. Can any of you please tell me if civil service offices or government offices have an HR department? (I am not talking about PSU)

Originally Posted by Preya

Out of this discussion, a random thought came to my mind... Can any of you please tell me if civil service offices or government offices have an HR department? (I am not talking about PSU).

Yes, "Personnel & Training Department." All groups have an HR department.

Thank you, Nikhil, but can you provide further illustration about this Personnel and Training Department as I am not satisfied with just the name of the department.